Geist: The Sin Eaters

The Pit Manifestation

Pain. Fear. Rage. Hate. A lot of people think these feelings have something to do with death. They couldn’t be more wrong. The Underworld has no emotion of its own, because death doesn’t care. You could be a pauper in the Mumbai slums or the richest man in history, but when you die, that’s it: You’re dead. The only real emotion in the Underworld comes from its denizens: Ghosts remember what it was like to be alive and chances are any ghost you ask would give everything to experience that once again.

According to some old ghosts, the Underworld wasn’t always that way. But the past isn’t the present, and right now the Underworld is a place that ultimately does not care about the universe and isn’t about to start. The cursed plasm that gives shape to the never-ending tunnels and caverns isn’t something that a sensible Sin-Eater should mess with. Then again, sensible Sin-Eaters don’t Manifest the Pit.

Every ability that the Pit gives requires a Sin-Eater to take in some of that cursed, corrupt plasm and fold it into his geist, absorbing a tiny part of the uncaring world beyond. Doing so, she can unlock powers that make her foes understand not that the universe is out to get them, but that the universe will never know they existed. The Passion Pit kills long-term relationships in favor of short term flings, and encourages people to ignore their noble callings, focusing on simple pleasures. The Primeval Pit shows the natural world’s disdain for the victim’s ongoing existence through whipping branches and howling beasts.

The Pit allows the Sin-Eater to remove an aspect of his victim. The specific Key used to unlock the Pit determines what is removed.

Cold Wind Pit: The Sin-Eater can take away the warmth in his victim’s heart or his ability to breathe. Key Skill: Occult

Stigmata: The Sin-Eater dulls the fire within the victim’s blood, enables ghosts to manifest around the victim, and even kills his blood’s ability to clot. Key Skill: Occult

Stillness: The Sin-Eater can dull her victim’s senses, and even remove him from the perceptions of other people. Key Skill: Subterfuge

Stygian Pit: The Sin-Eater can consume ghosts, sending her geist out in their form — or wearing it over her own skin. Key Skill: Medicine

Tear-Stained Pit: The Sin-Eater stops the victim gaining sustenance from water, and can even desiccate his victims. Key Skill: Occult

A Sin-Eater stains his soul every time he unlocks a Pit, the plasm brushing close against his soul. Just unlocking a Pit is a sin against Synergy 7. The Sin-Eater is forcing a piece of the Underworld into the living world, bringing the energies of death to those who aren’t yet ready for them. A Sin-Eater who wants to remain in tune with his geist and with the world should stay away from this Manifestation.

He also can’t channel the plasm generated through his Archetype into the Pit — it needs energy drawn from the Underworld. To that end, he has to be within one yard of an Avernian Gate per dot of Psyche to use an Archetypal Manifestation, though the gate doesn’t have to be open at the time.

Dramatic Failure: The Underworld turns on the Sin-Eater, burrowing into his soul and his geist both. The Sin-Eater loses a point of Willpower, and must roll for degeneration as though he’d committed a sin with a Synergy threshold of 4.

Failure: The corrupt energies of the Underworld do not yield to the Sin-Eater’s command.

Success: The Sin-Eater draws the cursed plasm of the Underworld through his geist and unleashes it against his target. In addition to the main effects of the Pit when unlocked with a specific Key, the target subtracts the Sin-Eater’s activation successes from all Composure rolls (to a maximum penalty of -5).

Exceptional Success: The dark tendrils of the Underworld linger, latching into the target’s mind. She loses a point of Willpower, in addition to the other effects of this Manifestation.

Unless otherwise noted, the effects of the Pit last until the end of the scene, though the Sin-Eater can end them before if he chooses.

The Elemental Pit Keys

Skill: Occult

The Sin-Eater infuses the victim with cursed plasm, hindering his interaction with one of the four classical elements. Note that each Key must be acquired separately.

Cold-Wind Pit [ Book Of The Dead — Page 83 ]

The Cold Wind Pit blows right through the victim as though he weren’t there, chilling his bones and numbing his soul. Initially, this Manifestation chills its victim like walking through a snowstorm in a thin shirt. While it doesn’t have a physical reaction beyond raising gooseflesh, the victim gets a creeping feeling of isolation. He feels that he’s alone in the world, and making connections with other people is harder. He suffers the activation successes as a penalty to Persuasion and Socialize rolls, rather than to Composure.

2 Dots: The chill lingers in the victim’s heart. The Cold Wind Pit lasts until the victim next sleeps, rather than until the end of the scene.

3 Dots: The Sin-Eater can convince the winds to ignore his victim entirely. He can gasp for breath all he likes, but he can’t breathe. The Sin-Eater spends 1 plasm and her player rolls (Composure + Occult + activation successes) â€“ target’s Stamina as an instant action. The victim cannot breathe for one minute per success. The length of time a victim can hold his breath is based on his Stamina. The victim panics as he focuses on breathing and suffers a -2 penalty on all rolls until the end of the scene.

4 Dots: The Cold Wind Pit fills the victim’s soul with numbing cold. Everyone else sees him, and might even approach him, but he can’t bring himself to respond. The Sin-Eater spends 2 plasm and 1 Willpower and rolls (Composure + Occult + activation successes) — target’s Composure. Every time the victim fails a Presence or Manipulation roll, the result is treated as a Dramatic Failure. This effect lasts until the end of the scene.

5 Dots: When using Cold Wind Pit 3, the Sin-Eater can withhold air for much longer. Add the Pit activation successes to the successes rolled for this power to determine the length of time the victim is without air. Any damage suffered as a result of this power is dealt to the victim’s Composure rather than her Health

Grave-Dirt Pit [ Book Of The Dead — Page 83 ]

The Grave-Dirt Pit is more than just a figurative title. Beyond bogging his target down in mud or striking him with crippling vertigo, the signature ability of this Pit is the ability to bury its victim alive. The basic power of the Grave-Dirt Pit causes the ground to shift and slide beneath the victim’s feet. Whenever she tries to run, or moves more than half her Speed in one turn in combat, she must succeed at a reflexive Dexterity + Athletics or be knocked down.

The following modifiers apply to both the activation roll and to rolls for subsidiary powers based on where the victim is standing:

Emotional Responses

Below are some of the most common emotional attacks associated with Passion Marionette. The Storyteller has discretion to modify these responses to fit the specific situation.
Modifier Situation
+1 The victim is standing on loose earth or soil.
+1 The victim is underground.
+2 The victim is standing on boggy earth or mud.
+0 The victim is standing on rock or hard-packed earth.1 The victim is standing on asphalt or concrete at ground level.
-1 For each story the victim is above ground.
-2 The victim is standing on metal or ceramic.
-4 The victim is not standing on anything - falling through the air, or floating in water.
2 Dots The victim of this power can’t keep her feet, but she suffers crippling dizziness and vertigo when she’s above ground level. The Sin-Eater rolls Composure + Occult + activation successes in a contended action with the target’s Composure + Psyche. If successful, the victim can’t balance, and suffers a -1 penalty to Dexterity rolls for every story (roughly three yards) above ground, to a maximum of -5. The victim can’t turn this penalty into a bonus by going underground.

3 Dots: The victim starts to sink into the ground, and has to fight if she wants to move. The ground reacts to her struggle, becoming thick like molasses as she thrashes around. As an instant action, the Sin-Eater can spend a point of plasm to reduce the victim’s Speed to just her Strength. She also suffers the Pit’s activation successes as a penalty to all Athletics rolls, and if she suffers a dramatic failure on any Athletics roll, the victim takes two points of bashing damage.

4 Dots: In addition to the dizzying effects inflicted by Grave-Dirt Pit 2, the victim is also overcome with nausea. She suffers two points of bashing damage, and can’t take any actions or apply her Defense until the end of her next turn.

5 Dots: This Manifestation buries its victim alive. The ground under her feet becomes insubstantial and she falls through six feet of earth and rock with no way to climb back up. The Sin-Eater spends 2 plasm and 1 Willpower, and rolls (Composure + Occult + activation successes) – target’s Stamina as an instant action. If successful, the victim takes two points of bashing damage as she falls into the ground. She remains there for one turn per success, during which time she can’t breathe. She counts as being in combat for the purposes of holding her breath. If she suffers any lethal damage from suffocation she also loses a point of Stamina until she can heal the damage. When this power ends, the victim is returned to ground level.

If the victim is on the second floor or higher up, she falls through the floor and doesn’t stop until she’s six feet under. She suffers one additional point of bashing damage for every story fallen, until she’s on the ninth floor or higher, at which point she hits terminal velocity. Note that the victim cannot make a Dexterity + Athletics roll to break her fall.

Pyre-Flame Pit [ Book Of The Dead — Page 84 ]

Fire does not give light or heat to a victim of the Pyre-Flame Pit, but it’s more than happy to burn him. A victim struck with the Pyre-Flame Pit is cold even on a balmy summer’s day, and can’t get warm from a flame. He could be stood in the middle of a towering inferno and still be shivering with cold. Ultimately, this still penalizes his Composure — the victim can still see the flames, after all.

2 Dots The victim now can’t draw warmth from any source of heat, rather than just fire. He won’t notice that a surface is hot — whether he grabs the handle of a hot pan, or slips in to a scalding hot bath. Apply the activation successes as a penalty to all Wits + Composure rolls to notice that a surface is hot.

3 Dots: At this level of power, the victim can’t see any indications that a surface is hot, though the Pit isn’t powerful enough to steal the light of the sun. His blindness includes flames, the glow of hot metal, or steam and bubbles rising in boiling water. The victim must spend a point of Willpower to roll Wits + Composure to notice that an object is hot, and the roll is penalized by Pyre-Flame Pit 2. In situations where the only light comes from flames, the victim is effectively blind.

4 Dots: The dark plasm of the Underworld infuses the victim’s clothing, making it more likely to burn. The Sin-Eater spends 2 plasm, and her player rolls (Composure + Occult + activation successes) – target’s Defense. On a success, if the victim takes any damage from a weapon that would normally set his clothes alight on an exceptional success, like a flamethrower, then a success is enough to set them burning. Attacking someone with a cigarette lighter or other small source of flame is a case of trying to touch someone, with a -2 modifier for the difficulty of touching with a flame. A success on that roll starts a fire the size of a torch and as hot as a candle, and the fire burns for one turn per success.

5 Dots: The Sin-Eater can spend an extra point of plasm when activating Pyre-Flame Pit 4. If he does, then any resulting fire is at least the size of a torch, and as hot as a chemical fire.

Tear-Stained Pit [ Book Of The Dead — Page 84 ]

Water does not slake the thirst of someone inflicted with the Tear-Stained Pit, though it’s more than happy to drown her. This Pit removes the vital spark from any water the victim drinks, leaving it tasting dry and brackish. Though she’s still able to drink water to live when inflicted with the basic version of this Pit, she feels thirsty all the time. She only suffers half the activation successes as a penalty to her Composure (round fractions down), but the Tear-Stained Pit lasts for one day per activation success.

2 Dots The Sin-Eater can spend an extra point of plasm when activating the Pit to stop the victim gaining sustenance from water while suffering under the Pit. However much she drinks, she still suffers from the effects of dehydration as though she has had no water for the duration.

3 Dots: Water shows its dislike for the victim, forcing itself down her nose and throat even when she’s doing her best not to breathe. The victim halves her Stamina when working out how long she can hold her breath when immersed in water. When drowning (though not suffocating), she suffers two points of lethal damage per turn, rather than one.

4 Dots: The geist actively forces the water out of the Sin-Eater’s victim, drying out her body to an unnatural degree. This is an instant action costing 2 plasm and 1 Willpower, and requires a roll of (Composure + Occult + activation successes) – target’s Stamina. If successful, the victim loses one point of a Physical Attribute per success. The Sin-Eater’s player determines which Attributes are affected. This damage heals at the same rate as lethal damage. An exceptional success permanently reduces the victim’s Speed by 1, while a dramatic failure heals the victim’s rightmost two Health boxes.

5 Dots: At this level, the damage dealt by Tear-Stained Pit 4 takes even longer to heal. All lost Attribute dots heal at the same rate as aggravated damage.

Industrial Pit [ Book Of The Dead — Page 84 ]

The Industrial Pit forces man-made objects to refuse the victim’s existence. He can type for as long as he likes on a computer, but it won’t save his documents or send an e-mail. His car won’t start — or pulls away only to ignore his hand on the wheel.

The Sin-Eater’s player doesn’t use the normal Anachrotech modifiers when activating the Industrial Pit. Instead, the victim suffers a penalty to his Composure equal to the Anachrotech modifier of the newest device he uses over the course of a scene. This penalty can change throughout the scene, but a character who only uses technology from before 1940 does not receive a bonus. The Industrial Pit lasts until the next sunset.

Example: Danny’s pissed off a Sin-Eater who retaliated with the Industrial Pit. She figured that him being an auto mechanic would make for all kinds of fun. Most of the stuff Danny’s using came into common use in the 1960s, so he suffers a -1 modifier to his Composure as his tools turn against him. Thinking that something’s going wrong, he tries to call his boss from his brand new cellphone. His Composure modifier increases to -5 until the end of the scene. Next scene, he only starts suffering a penalty when he uses a technological device.

2 Dots No matter what he tries, the victim of the Industrial Pit can’t convince machines to obey his command. This power targets one item used by someone under the influence of the Industrial Pit that the Sin-Eater can see, and that isn’t larger than (Size 5 +1 for each activation success). The Sin-Eater spends 2 plasm as an instant action and her player rolls Composure + Crafts + activation successes. On a success, the victim is reduced to a chance die on all rolls involving the object for the remainder of the scene.

3 Dots: The Sin-Eater can force a ghost into a machine used by a victim of the Industrial Pit, much as it can possess a human being. The ghost can control the machine as though it were using it. The ghost doesn’t become anchored to the device, and destroying the item has no effect on the ghost. The Sin-Eater spends 2 plasm, and her player rolls Presence + Crafts + activation successes contested by the ghost’s Resistance. Anachrotech modifiers apply to this power as normal, and the item must have been used by a victim of the Industrial Pit within the same scene. On a success, the ghost is bound into the item until the end of the scene. It can do anything the item can reasonably do, though it can’t move the item itself unless it possesses Numina that would allow it to do so. Most actions can be resolved by using the ghost’s Power + Finesse in place of an Attribute + Skill roll. The ghost can only use Numina that normally affect items on the item in which it is trapped. Numina that affect people or animals only work against someone who actually touches the item. The ghost remains in the device until the end of the scene.

4 Dots: The Sin-Eater can use Industrial Pit 2 against a single item of Size 10 (with +2 per activation success). Alternatively, she can jinx a number of items equal to her Psyche as long as the total Size of all the items affected is less than her maximum.

5 Dots: The Industrial Key is the main way with which a Sin-Eater can interface her geist with the workings of the world. Governments, banks, and corporations all forget that the victim of this power has ever existed. For all that this power can devastate a member of Western society, it’s not easy to pull off, especially against someone well-connected. The Sin-Eater spends 3 plasm as an instant action and his player rolls Manipulation + Crafts + activation successes, contested by the victim’s Resolve + Psyche. Apply the following modifiers to the victim’s pool, based on his Social Merits:

Emotional Responses

Below are some of the most common emotional attacks associated with Passion Marionette. The Storyteller has discretion to modify these responses to fit the specific situation.
Modifier Situation
+3 Character has a Mentor in a large company or government department.
+2 Character has Status 3 or higher in a large company or government department.
+2 Character has Contacts 4 or higher.
+2 Character has Resources 3 or higher.
+1 Per dot of Fame character possesses.
+1 Character has Contacts in corporate or business circles.
+1 Character has Status 2 or lower in a large company or government department.
+1 Character has Status 4 or higher in another organization.
+1 Character has Allies 3 or higher.
-1 Character has no dots in Allies or Contacts.
-1 Character has no dots in Status or Resources.
-1 Character has no dots in Fame or Mentor
If the Sin-Eater is successful, the victim’s credit cards and IDs all come up as canceled, his driver’s license becomes invalid, his car’s flagged as stolen, his cellphone and Internet connections are cut off, and his home is repossessed. He loses the benefits of all his Social Merits except Inspiring and Striking Looks. Any attempts to prove that he still exists suffer a -5 penalty. The effects of this power last for a whole week, after which the victim is free to pick up the pieces.

Passion Pit [ Book Of The Dead — Page 85 ]

Skill: Empathy

The Passion Pit turns a character’s own emotions against him, infusing those passions with the diseased plasm of the Underworld. His thoughts and emotions turn against him, and prevent him from concentrating. The basic effect of the Passion Pit affects Composure as normal.

For every success rolled, the victim suffers a cumulative -1 penalty to each roll of his next extended action, up to a maximum penalty of -5. That is, his first roll suffers a -1 penalty, the second a -2 penalty, and so on until the penalty equals the number of successes rolled for this power. On an exceptional success, the affected action cannot extend beyond five rolls at all.

3 Dots: The essence of the Underworld twists every noble intention, warping the victim’s actions into something far darker. When he looks back on what he has actually done, he may be shocked at what really happened. The Sin-Eater spends 1 plasm and her player rolls Composure + Empathy + activation successes, contested by the victim’s Resolve + Psyche. On a success, the next time the victim attempts an action that would channel his Virtue, he only regains 1 Willpower and suffers a -3 penalty to any applicable dice pools. After that, the victim can’t use either Virtue or Vice until the next chapter. On a dramatic failure, the victim can indulge his Vice this scene and receive the benefit of channeling his virtue instead.

4 Dots: A victim of this power can feel his mind working against him. Unable to think straight for more than a second at a time, almost anything he does is doomed to failure. The Sin-Eater spends 3 plasm and her player rolls (Composure + Empathy + activation successes) – victim’s Resolve. If successful, the victim reduces every dice pool for instant or extended actions to a chance die (reflexive actions are not affected). One action is affected per success rolled.

5 Dots: The tainted plasm unleashed by Passion Pit 4 works into the victim’s mind, burrowing deep. In order to take an action while this power is active, the victim must spend a Willpower point. Her dice pools are still reduced to a chance die.

Phantasmal Pit [ Book Of The Dead — Page 86 ]

Skill: Persuasion

The visions created by the Phantasmal Pit depict a world where the victim died many years ago and nobody cares. Each vision presents itself as a real, probable outcome; the way things will be rather than the way things could be.

To start with, the visions created by the Phantasmal Pit just leave the victim shaken. The Bound can’t use this power against his intended target if the target is in combat or otherwise engaged in stressful activity, and must touch his intended target in order to activate the Pit.

2 Dots The visions produced by the Phantasmal Pit can inflict terrible psychological problems. A Sin-Eater can spur his foes to fixate on their failings, fall into a terrible depression, or react to things that don’t exist. As an instant action, the Sin-Eater spends 1 plasm and his player rolls Composure + Persuasion + activation successes contested by the victim’s Resolve + Composure + Psyche. If the Sin-Eater succeeds, he can choose a mild derangement to inflict on his victim for the scene, and the victim can’t roll Resolve + Composure to resist the derangement’s onset.

3 Dots: Overwhelmingly, the power of the Underworld is the power to break down the lines between what is real and what is not. Someone affected by this power has no concept of the difference between fantasy and reality; what she imagines is just as real as what exists. The Sin-Eater spends 1 plasm and rolls Composure + Persuasion + activation successes versus the victim’s Resolve + Composure + Psyche in a contested action. If successful, the victim starts to hallucinate. She suffers a -2 penalty to all Social rolls due to her unpredictable behavior, and reacts to anyone who confronts her with threatening or aggressive language accordingly: either she runs like hell, or she tries to attack them. The victim can spend a point of Willpower to become lucid for a minute.

4 Dots: At this level of power, the geist can instead inflict a severe derangement when using Phantasmal Pit 2, though the Sin-Eater must spend an extra point of plasm when unlocking the Manifestation.

5 Dots: Some of the most powerful visions produced by the Phantasmal Pit strip away the delusion that one person’s life matters. Buffeted by visions of how the world would be a better place if she had never been born, the victim understands that the world would actually be a better place without her. The Sin-Eater spends 3 plasm and his player rolls (Composure + Persuasion + activation successes) â€“ target’s Resolve. If successful, the Sin-Eater’s player can inflict one point of damage to the victim’s Presence or Manipulation per success rolled. The lost Attributes return as if the victim were healing lethal damage. On an exceptional success, she also loses one point from each ranked Social Merit she possesses (Allies, Contacts, Fame, Mentor, Retainer, and Status). These lost points return after a week.

Primeval Pit [ Book Of The Dead — Page 86 ]

Skill: Animal Ken

Shadows in the firelight. Eyes glinting just beyond the mouth of the cave. Wind rushing through the leaves of ancient trees, back when the world was young. The Primeval Pit stirs those feelings in the hearts of men once more. Even someone who’s lived in a city all his life understands the cold, dark loneliness that comes from being alone in a hostile world. The predators haven’t gone away; they’re just better at hiding. At base, the Primal Pit sparks fear within its victim’s heart. In an urban area, even a small town, the Pit works as normal. If the victim is surrounded by wilderness — no streetlights, buildings, or even cultivated fields — the Sin-Eater has an easier time unlocking the Manifestation. Her activation roll gains the 8-again quality.

2 Dots Well-trod paths through the wilderness normally bow to the feet of man. Not so for a victim of the Primal Pit. The Sin-Eater spends 1 plasm and her player rolls (Composure + Animal Ken + activation successes) – target’s Stamina as an instant action. If her roll is successful, branches, roots, and undergrowth catch at the victim’s legs and pull his feet out from under him. Reduce the victim’s Speed by two for each success rolled. If this reduces his Speed to 0, he’s immobilized. This penalty lasts for the duration of the Pit, or until the victim first steps onto a man-made surface, whichever comes first. On an exceptional success, the victim takes a point of bashing damage from the plants. Conversely, a dramatic failure increases the victim’s Speed by the activation successes.

3 Dots: The geist can tweak the victim’s sense of isolation. He knows that the only way to be safe from the dark is to find more people, to huddle together in the light and hope the darkness fades. The Sin-Eater can spend an extra point of plasm when activating the Pit. If she does, the victim must move towards the nearest group of 10 or more people. If there’s nobody else around, he heads for somewhere that’s likely to have people around — towards the nearest building or road. He must spend a point of Willpower in order to take any other action.

4 Dots: Most people don’t know what it feels like to be hunted. Those few who survive contact with feral creatures of the night — werewolves especially — have an inkling of that fear. The Sin-Eater can let loose a terrifying shriek that only a victim of the Primeval Pit can hear, tapping directly into the fear of being a prey animal once more. This costs 1 plasm, and the Sin-Eater’s player rolls Presence + Animal Ken + activation successes contested by the victim’s Resolve + Psyche. If the Sin-Eater succeeds, the victim has a hard time doing anything but running in fear. He suffers a penalty to all actions that don’t involve running in abject terror equal to half of (10 â€“ his Willpower), rounding any fractions up. If the victim’s Willpower is less than 5, he blanks the events from his memory. An exceptional success on the roll turns the Sin-Eater’s next Intimidation roll into a rote action, as others hear her howl.

5 Dots: Unlocking the final Manifestation of the Primeval Pit summons the ghost of a once-dead predator and gives it physical form so that it can hunt the victim down. The Sin-Eater must spend 3 plasm to summon the beast.

The undead predator takes the form of a carnivorous animal, though the created body is obviously dead — visible bones show through rotting flesh. The beast has the normal Traits for the beast of that chosen type. The Sin-Eater’s player can “spend” his activation successes to raise one of the animal’s Physical Attributes by one, increase its Size by one, or add one point of armor.

The beast does not suffer wound penalties, unconsciousness, or bleeding. The only way to stop it attacking is to fill its last Health box with aggravated damage. Worse, bullets only deal bashing damage to the animal, though the creature takes aggravated damage from fire. The animal operates under a simple set of instructions: It can only move towards its target, who must be a victim of the Primeval Pit, or towards another living being in the same direction. If there’s a living creature within range, the creature can attempt to kill it, but it will only chase after its target.

The summoned beast lasts for the duration of the Primeval Pit. If the Sin-Eater spends a Willpower point when activating this power, the beast instead lasts until the next sunrise.

Stigmata Pit [ Book Of The Dead — Page 88 ]

Skill: Occult

Blood is the river of life that flows to the ashen plain of death. The Stigmata Pit calls to the blood of its victim, altering its flow. The initial power of the Stigmata Pit calms the victim’s blood; he doesn’t get riled up and has a hard time bringing himself to do anything. Even when he manages to act, he’s not quick about it. The activation successes apply as a direct penalty to both his Speed and Initiative, not his Composure.

2 Dots Using the blood as a tie to the dead, a Sin-Eater can weaken the boundary between living and dead around a victim of the Stigmata Pit. The Sin-Eater must shed some of the victim’s blood to use this power — enough to deal a point of lethal damage. The Sin-Eater’s player rolls (Composure + Occult + activation successes) – target’s Composure. If successful, any ghost with an anchor within five yards of the target gains a bonus to all rolls to manifest equal to the successes rolled to activate this power, until the end of the scene. The victim doesn’t count as a mortal witness for the purposes of working out cumulative manifestation penalties. On an exceptional success, a ghost that fails to manifest does not lose a point of Willpower, while a dramatic failure applies a -3 dice penalty to any ghost attempting to manifest.

3 Dots: The lethargy of the Stigmata Pit spreads to the victim’s mind as well. If the Sin-Eater spends a point of plasm when activating the Pit, the victim suffers the activation successes as a penalty to all Wits-based rolls in addition to Speed and Initiative.

4 Dots: The Sin-Eater can call ghosts to his victim. By spending an extra point of plasm when activating Stigmata Pit 2, any ghost within 20 yards of the victim can manifest as though it had an anchor. Any ghosts within a hundred yards know that there’s something special about the target, and will probably head towards him.

5 Dots: Many Sin-Eaters focus on the ties between blood and the dead. Others focus on the blood pumping through the veins of the living. The Sin-Eater urges tainted plasm deep into her victim’s heart, removing the body’s ability to clot. The Sin-Eater spends 2 plasm and her player rolls Composure + Occult + activation successes contested by the target’s Stamina + Psyche. If successful, the victim’s blood refuses to coagulate. Each attack made against the victim deals a point of bashing damage in addition to other effects. This damage manifests even if the attacker rolls no successes. If the victim fills his rightmost Health box, even with bashing damage, he suffers an additional point of bashing damage each minute as he bleeds to death internally. Any Medicine rolls made to heal the victim suffer a -3 penalty. Every time that a vampire would suffer bashing damage as a result of this power, he instead loses a point of Vitae as it leaks out of his system and pools under his skin.

On a dramatic failure, the Pit corrupts the plasm in the Sin-Eater’s bloodstream, inflicting a -2 penalty to all rolls and removing his Defense until the end of his next turn. An exceptional success turns that pain on to the victim, who suffers double the normal wound penalties. Characters who don’t normally suffer wound penalties instead suffer the normal penalties.

Stillness Pit [ Book Of The Dead — Page 88 ]

Skill: Stealth

Insidiously, the Stillness Pit robs its victims of their own senses, overlaying the muted sensory impressions of the Underworld on the otherwise bright and vibrant world. She can identify things by smell, but it’s like she’s breathing through a scarf. Food and drink taste of little more than ash and filthy water. Sounds and colors have their vibrancy stolen, and touching anything’s like grasping it through a ball of cotton wool. The basic power of the Stillness Pit affects the victim’s Perception rolls, as well as his Composure.

2 Dots The Sin-Eater can spend an extra point of plasm when manifesting the Pit in order to cloud her victim’s senses further. All Perception rolls and rolls to react to surprise are reduced to a chance die for the duration of the Pit. The victim can’t spend Willpower to increase his dice pool. This penalty applies to Skill-Based Perception as well as the standard Wits + Composure roll to notice things.

3 Dots: Lots of people go through life wanting other people to notice them. This ability kills the victim’s voice and image, leaving him invisible and robbing him of the spotlight — or saving a victim of abuse form his attacker’s sight. The Sin-Eater spends one point of plasm, and her player rolls Composure + Stealth + activation successes contested by the target’s Resolve + Psyche, though if the target is willing the roll is uncontested. If the Sin-Eater succeeds, the victim is rendered invisible and inaudible to people in the physical world for the duration of the Pit. Any attempt to draw people’s attention automatically fails. Anyone who can perceive ghosts in Twilight can still see the victim. On a dramatic failure, the victim becomes more noticeable, gaining a +1 bonus to all Presence rolls until the end of the scene.

4 Dots: The Sin-Eater removes the one thing that most people take for granted: their ability to touch things. While barriers still bar her victim’s progress, a Sin-Eater can leave him unable to pick up a pen or hold his wife. The Sin-Eater spends 2 plasm and her player rolls Composure + Stealth + activation successes contested by the victim’s Stamina + Psyche. On a success, the victim can’t pick up or hold anything until the end of the scene; he can lean on a wall or sit on a chair, but can’t change his clothes or lift so much as a feather. He can spend a point of Willpower to hold an item for one turn. The victim can’t be touched by physical objects in return, including fists and bullets. Any actions that involve touching or striking the victim automatically fail.

5 Dots: Someone who falls foul of a master of the Stillness Pit walks through the world without anyone encountering him. Invisible and untouchable, all he can do is watch people walk by, trapped in his own personal hell. This power costs 3 plasm and 1 Willpower and replaces the activation roll for the Stillness Pit with a contested roll of Composure + Stealth + Pit rating contested by the target’s Resolve + Stamina + Psyche. If the Sin-Eater succeeds, she inflicts every power of the Stillness Pit in one outpouring of twisted plasm. For Stillness Pit 3 and 4, the Sin-Eater is assumed to have rolled a success. The power so unlocked lasts until the next sunrise, rather than the end of the scene. On an exceptional success, the Sin-Eater regains the point of Willpower spent to activate the Pit, in addition to the normal effects of an exceptional success.

Stygian Pit [ Book Of The Dead — Page 89 ]

Skill: Medicine

The Stygian Key channels the energy of the Underworld towards a ghost rather than a mortal, corrupting the ghost’s Corpus with raw entropic plasm. The Sin-Eater can use the Stygian Pit against any ghost he’s aware of within 10 yards per point of Psyche. The activation successes are applied as a penalty against rolls made with the ghost’s Resistance, rather than its Composure. The ghost applies its Resistance to the activation roll in place of a physical being’s Resolve or Composure.

A ghost must be in Twilight for the Stygian Pit to affect it. A Bound attempting this Manifestation on a ghost in the Underworld suffers one point of aggravated damage as the dark energies twist back upon him.

2 Dots The Sin-Eater can drain the power from a ghost as his geist consuming its Corpus, drawing it back along the bond between the two and using it to channel the energies of the Underworld. The Sin-Eater spends 1 plasm and her player rolls Composure + Medicine + activation successes versus the target’s Finesse + Resistance as an extended and contested action, requiring successes equal to the ghost’s Corpus and with each roll representing 30 seconds. If the Sin-Eater is successful, her geist consumes the ghost’s Corpus, effectively eating the ghost. She can store one extra point of plasm for every two dots of Corpus (round fractions up). Effects that return all lost plasm also fill this unholy reserve.

At the end of the scene, the ghost’s essence fades into the Underworld. She re-forms in the Autochthonous Depths with full Corpus and with no further negative effects from the Pit. She still has her anchors (if she had any to begin with), but must find an Avernian Gate in order to return to the physical world.

3 Dots: The Sin-Eater can project her geist into Twilight wearing the stolen Corpus of a ghost. A character can only use this Manifestation after having successfully used Stygian Pit 2, and can only take on the form of that ghost. The Sin-Eater spends 1 plasm and her player rolls Composure + Medicine + activation successes as an instant action. The geist manifests in Twilight, looking exactly like the affected ghost. It can act independently of the Sin-Eater, but uses his Attributes and Skills rather than gaining the ghost’s Attributes. The geist can Manifest as normal in the presence of the ghost’s anchors, but cannot use any Numina that the ghost had. Accessing the memories of a ghost for specific information requires a reflexive Intelligence + Wits roll. The Sin-Eater and geist can act independently, but if both act on the same turn they each suffer a -2 modifier to any actions. The geist can remain in ghostly form for one turn per success, or until the end of the scene if the player rolls an exceptional success.

4 Dots: Having stolen the form of a ghost, a Sin-Eater can wear that ghost’s form. While some Sin-Eaters just use this power as a useful disguise, some less scrupulous Bound track down the ghost’s living anchors. A character can only use this Manifestation after having successfully used Stygian Pit 2, and can only take on the form of that ghost. The Sin-Eater spends 3 plasm, and her player rolls Composure + Medicine + activation successes. If the Sin-Eater possesses the Stygian Caul at 3 or more, he gains a +2 bonus to her dice pool. If successful, the Sin-Eater takes on the outward appearance of the ghost, and can access specific memories by rolling Intelligence + Wits as a reflexive action. The Sin-Eater does not possess his victim’s Numina, and must instead use Manifestations to replicate their effects. The Sin-Eater automatically knows the location and nature of each of the ghost’s anchors as a reflexive action. The Sin-Eater can manifest the stolen ghost’s form for five minutes per success, or until the end of the scene if the player rolls an exceptional success.

Anyone who knew the ghost when she was alive must make a Resolve + Composure roll. Failure indicates that she gains a temporary Derangement until the end of the scene.

5 Dots: Mastery over the Stygian Pit allows a Sin-Eater to use all of the Pit’s powers in the Underworld. Also, he can affect Kerberoi, psychopomps, and other things native to the lands of the dead as well as ghosts. He can’t turn the Pit against beings normally resident in the living world, including humans, vampires, and Prometheans. Using the Pit against something that isn’t a ghost costs an extra point of plasm.